Ahead of the all-party meeting on the Telangana issue tomorrow, the security establishment is learnt to have made it known to the political leadership that smaller states have so far only benefited the Maoists and this should be factored in while taking any such step in Andhra Pradesh.

In discussions at the highest level over the past couple of days, top government sources said the assessment from security agencies is that carving out Telengana would help Maoists regroup in the Andhra region.

“Remnants of the Maoist movement are strongest in Telengana so any break-up of the state (Andhra) will help them,” said a source.

According to the security assessment given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the creation of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand helped Maoists entrench better, as they took advantage of administrative problems in a new state.

Maoist leaders have repeatedly called for a mass militant movement to get a separate state. CPI (Maoist) leader Mallojula Koteswar Rao has been quoted in the local media as saying no one but the Maoists were serious about the Telangana cause.

Significantly, following the resignation of N D Tiwari — after the sex tape scandal — the government asked Chhattisgarh Governor E S L Narasimhan, former Director of Intelligence Bureau, to hold additional charge. Given the Maoist undercurrent to the Telangana movement, this was a move to ensure that the security angle is not overlooked in the deliberations ahead.